Warcraft Fiction

Welcome to the Player Five Fiction Archive.

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If you came in Late…

I’ve been creating stories for over thirty years. I’m currently working on any number of long-form pieces and the Blog is part of my daily inspiration to keep writing about the things I love. During 2012 I found it impossible to discuss the current ‘storyline’ of the Pandaria Expansion without subconsciously slipping into prose. My main playable character (Dwarven Hunter) appears to have taken on a life of her own as a result, and from this the concept of Player 5 was born. I’d expected the first piece I wrote to be the only one, but wasn’t prepared for the reaction it received, and so I’ve taken the decision to let these players take me on their quests, and to see where we end up as a result. The events of the game itself will dictate our final destination. I’m as much in Blizzard’s hands as everyone else as a result.

This is also an autobiographical journey, I’ve begun to realise as the fiction has emerged. I find myself alluding to real-life events outside the game that influenced what happened within, and vice versa. I am examining the culture of the game and how it has often seamlessly meshed over into reality, and how I (as a player) deal with events and circumstances in both worlds. Part of me thinks there is clearly some therapeutic value in all of this too, if how I feel when I write is any indicator. What it has also made me understand is that the game ‘world’ is as much an influence on how I write as it is on how I play. Places, NPC’s, events in game have all linked themselves into an internal chronology over time. I ‘see’ Azeroth historically, from beginning to end, as a complete and unique entity.

As a result, starting my players journey where I did in Mists of Pandaria, I understand there is a past that needs to be explored and explained as the future plays out in ‘real time.’ This interest has waxed and waned as my commitment and involvement in the narrative has altered over time, and is now listed here as a testament to how a bunch of pixels can inspire someone to explore the life they created form themselves inside this ‘virtual’ reality.

This is the current list of pieces, listed in the order they have been written. This list was last updated on April 17th, 2016.